Circulating Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 is Associated with Subsequent Renal Injury Events in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a regulator of glucose homeostasis, and is suggested to have protective effect on diabetic nephropathy. Its impact on non-diabetic kidney disease is unclear. To investigate the impact of FGF21 on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), 531 subjects underwent elective coronary angiography (CAG) were enrolled. Baseline creatinine and FGF21 were obtained before CAG. Patients were grouped into tertiles according to their FGF21 concentration. Creatinine was obtained 48 hours after CAG, and every 6 months in the follow-up period. Renal function decline was defined as >30% reduction of eGFR from baseline. All subjects were followed up till December 2016, or till the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Patients with higher FGF21 concentration were older, had higher incidence of hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and heart failure. Thirty-four cases of CIN and 111 cases of renal function decline were identified during mean follow-up of 2.3 ± 1.3 years. Circulating FGF21 level was independently associated with CIN (aOR: 4.66, 95% CI: 1.29–16.86, p = 0.019) and renal function decline (aHR: 7.98, 95% CI: 4.07–15.66, p < 0.001) whether diabetes was present or not. In conclusion, circulating FGF21 level is independently associated with the incidence of CIN and subsequent kidney injury in patients undergoing CAG.